Well, this whole week we've been talking about the fruit of the Spirit and staying grounded in our faith during difficult times. Today, I think one of the most comforting parts of that fruit of the Spirit is when we have the peace of God in our lives. There's nothing else like having God's peace. It's indescribable and there's a section of scripture in Philippians 4, starting with verse four, where the apostle Paul wrote this: "Rejoice in the Lord, always. I will say it again, rejoice." He repeats it for emphasis, the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. He said, "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything".

Anxious is another word for fear and for stress. Don't be stressed out, don't be fearful, right? We know that fear is not from God. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So if God didn't give us a spirit of fear, who did? Well, our enemy Satan did. So Paul is telling us here, do not be anxious about anything. Don't be fearful about anything. But in everything, by prayer, and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Paul is telling us when we're feeling anxious, we should pray. I heard a great phrase a few weeks back, it said anxiety is your body's way of telling you it's time to pray. That's exactly what Paul is telling us here. We need to bring our requests before God. He uses the word petition. I think of petition like a list of items. God wants to hear your prayers. He wants to hear what's on your mind. He wants to hear the things that are concerning to you and that are causing you to be anxious. Bring them before God with thanksgiving in your heart. That's what God wants us to do.

Paul then he goes on to say, "and the peace of God." So when you do all this, when you're anxious, and you come to God in prayer, and you come to him with a heart filled with thanksgiving, this is what the result is going to be... "and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding." I don't care how smart you are, the peace of God goes beyond our finite minds. It is indescribable. That peace will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Let that sink in—the peace of God will guard your heart. It'll guard your mind. It'll guard your passions and the things that you love. It will guide you in life. It will allow you to think clearly because it covers your mind. When you're anxious and stressed out and you can't think straight, the peace of God will allow you to think clearly. The Bible says we can have the mind of Christ and I believe that's what happens when we let the peace of God guard our hearts and our minds. S

So maybe you're feeling anxious with what's going on in our world today, or maybe you've lost hope. Maybe you're just tired or you feel like you're in a drought. It's been a season of just bad news and more bad news piled on top of that. And it's been a drought where there's no good news. I want you to come before God. I want you to present your anxious feelings to him and let his peace operate in your life. There is no better feeling than to be in the peace of God. Thanks for joining us today Life Lifters. We hope these videos were helpful for you this week. Be sure to join us again next week and don't forget to like and share these videos. Have a great day go and make a great day.